Monday, December 18, 2017

After over 70 years of silence and public denial, the U.S. Department of Defense has finally released an official cockpit video of an F/A-18 Super Hornet trying to intercept a UFO off the coast of San Diego in 2004. It was released in August of this year, and it shows in the video a white oval object that does a strange rotation while it is being tailed by the F/A-18:

Here I think is the original video upload given to the New York Times:

Not only do we have the video, we have the testimony of the two Navy pilots who were trying to chase down the UFOs: Cmdr. David Fravor and Lt. Cmdr. Jim Slaight. One interview can be found here: 2 Navy Airmen and an Object That ‘Accelerated Like Nothing I’ve Ever Seen’. It first appeared at 80,000 ft, then dropped to 20,000 ft. By the time the aircraft arrived the object was hovering 50 ft above sea level, causing a disturbance to the water below it. As they tried to intercept, it then shot away and disappeared. The two pilots were then told to meet at a rendezvous point 60 miles away, and a few moments later the object appeared at the exact rendezvous point before the fighter jets could arrive there. The object was playing games with them, perhaps in response to the Navy's military exercise to demonstrate their combat power to respond to "a national emergency or crisis" (see Seven Carrier Strike Groups Underway for Exercise). Apparently these UFOs started to play a "cat and mouse" game with the U.S. Navy over a period of 2 weeks.

The funding went to Mr. Bigelow’s company, Bigelow Aerospace, which hired subcontractors and solicited research for the program.

Under Mr. Bigelow’s direction, the company modified buildings in Las Vegas for the storage of metal alloys and other materials that Mr. Elizondo and program contractors said had been recovered from unidentified aerial phenomena.

And behind that sentence that I highlighted in bold there is a lot more. The truth of the matter is that the U.S. military started tracking these UFOs since the 1950s. The U.S. military first became aware of these UFOs during WWII as they started to tail our pilots during their bombing runs over Germany, and were called "Foo Fighters." Public interest was at an all-time high until the U.S. Air Force terminated Project Blue Book in 1969. So this event is not exactly new. What is new is that the U.S. Department of Defense has apparently decided to follow a track of a "slow information release" to the public. This incident was first reported by a group of "former spies and spooks" who decided to go public about it - see I-Team: Public company launched to investigate UFOs.

So this particular incident is important - we have a verified video from the U.S. Department of Defense plus the witness testimony of 2 pilots. There are many false videos and photographs on the internet, and these are part of another arm of an intelligence agency that puts out false information on this subject as part of a massive counter intelligence program.

SO WHO ARE THEY AND WHY ARE THEY HERE?

The increase in activity of these UFOs is in response to several events:

The explosion of the atomic bomb in 1945, which threatens to destroy the earth, and,

The threat of environmental destruction by human activity, and,

The threat of human expansion beyond our planet. Earth is under quarantine, and

The long term effect of increased solar radiation from the sun on our planet, and

Increased adverse infiltration/influence of one group on certain intelligence agencies

There are three main theories as to their origin, and all may be true:

They are extraterrestrial or interstellar in origin, and/or:

They are "ultraterrestrial" and have been here a long time, maintaining underground and underwater bases of operation, and/or:

They are interdimensional

Their modus operandi is as follows:

They prefer to remain and act anonymous, or to act in such a way where one cannot prove their existence

Some use advanced mind control methods, and will erase the memory of the encounter

Many prefer to communicate in a non-verbal manner via telepathy, empathy, or channeling

As they use advanced mental communication, due to our separation from the spiritual world from our sinful nature a contact can be later accompanied by poltergeist activity

Some engage in counter-intelligence, and will make false statements to invalidate the testimony of the encounter

WHAT WAS THE FIRST REPORTED EXTRATERRESTRIAL ENCOUNTER?

Interestingly, the first reported extraterrestrial encounter was experienced through visionary states by Emanuel Swedenborg in the 18th century. The clairvoyant abilities of Emanuel Swedenborg have been well documented, and one incident was investigated by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Similar to modern encounters, Swedenborg stated that most tend to communicate in a non-verbal manner:

"They are averse to vocal speech, because it is material, and therefore, when no intermediate spirits were present, I could not speak with them except by a kind of active thought." (Earths in the Universe, n. 17)

This is obviously a barrier to contact. However the U.S. Military has recognized this, and there are reports they have employed empaths to enable communication.

Swedenborg even described one group that was interstellar, who were interested in increasing their knowledge of the universe:

"The spirits of that earth go in companies and troops, and when assembled together, they form as it were a globe. ...That they wander through the universe to acquire knowledges of things, was evident to me also from this — that once when they appeared very remote from me, they spoke with me thence, and said that they were then gathered together, and were going out of the sphere of this world into the starry heaven" (Earths in the Universe, n. 25).

In his visionary state he saw that these extraterrestrials were associated with the planets of our solar system, and even though he could not see the planets themselves Swedenborg falsely concluded that the planets of the solar system were inhabited. Given this, many discount entirely the testimony of Swedenborg as to his spiritual and theological topics. Those within the New Church have their own theories that generally discount what Swedenborg had to say on the topic as well. One contrary indication to these negative theories is that Swedenborg was able to accurately describe the rings of Saturn, long before their nature was confirmed by science.

In Swedenborg's account Earths in the Universe many do not consider that these extraterrestrials were highly advanced, either in orbit around such planets or dwelling in temporary underground bases. One factor that is generally not considered is that of biological contamination, which is another barrier for contact. Thus if they needed to setup a temporary base of operation for observation, a dead planet with no biological agents would be more ideal then that of earth itself, which has an extreme variety of biological life, a rarity in our galaxy.

So the barriers of contact are many, and the entire subject requires discernment and education, but most of all, a willingness to break the social taboo on this subject. But hopefully some of the evidence presented here as to their existence will remove the barrier to anyone wishing to explore the spiritual revelations given to Emanuel Swedenborg, for they have been ignored for far too long.

Monday, December 11, 2017

I recently authored a book, The Symbolism of the Psalms, which is a comprehensive spiritual commentary on Psalms 1-41 based on the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. It is also a new translation of the Psalms based on modern Biblical research, which affects the interpretation of certain passages. I have been waiting for the right moment to publish volumes 2 and 3, but I am currently involved in investigating some secret numerical codes hidden in the Psalms which I discovered by analyzing Hebrew poetic structures of the Psalms, and it is becoming a completely separate work in itself (thus the lack of blog posts). A reader of this blog, David Deaton, decided to write a book review, and after several attempts at finding an avenue for publication I suggested I could post it here on this blog. Here is the full review, unedited, although I am tempted to explain the hidden meaning behind the book cover [hint, read the back cover]:

Book Review-

The Symbolism of the
Psalms: A Spiritual Commentary

Volume 1 (Psalms 1-41)

Theodore D. Webber

Apocryphile Press, 2017, 557 pp.

It’s hard to believe that one of the greatest achievements
of New Church collateral literature has just been made by a person with no
extraordinary academic qualifications or even formal affiliation to the
organized New Church, but the proof is in the reading...

Those who are curious as to the author’s background may know
that Theodore D. Webber has a degree in Near Eastern Studies from U.C. Berkeley
and has made his living these last twenty years as an IT director at a large
financial firm in New Jersey. During his off-hours, Webber maintains an
eclectic, religiously-themed blog called “Spirituality, Dreams and Prophecy,” which
can be visited at:

In brief, Webber has done for the book of Psalms what Emmanuel
Swedenborg, has done for the books of Genesis, Exodus, and Revelation, in
providing a detailed exegesis of Sacred Scripture, using the very system of
correspondences revealed to Swedenborg. When Webber’s work is published in
full, it will comprise three stout volumes of textual analysis, most of which
is drawn directly from the Writings themselves. References scattered over
thirty volumes of the Rotch Edition will be gathered into one easily accessed
collection. “This work brings together this information to create a
comprehensive spiritual commentary for each Psalm,” writes Webber. “In this
manner, scripture is used to systematically explain scripture.”

In his excellent introduction “The Spiritual Meaning of the
Psalms,” Webber poses this challenge to any prospective reader who may never
before have heard of the Writings. “Most who read the Bible take it on faith,
or on the basis of church authority and tradition, that it is Divinely
inspired. But what about a systematic proof, using internal evidence from the
text itself, to demonstrate that it is indeed Divinely inspired?”

Webber answers his own challenge by deciphering the
variously authored Old Testament liturgy known as the book of Psalms to show
its internal consistency. For each and every Psalm, he provides his own fresh
translation, a terse summary taken straight from the treatise informally known
as Prophets and Psalms (contained in Posthumous Theological Works, Vol. 2),
and then an exhaustive exposition proceeding line-by-line, sometimes
word-by-word, replete with copious biblical cross-references. There’s everything
here but the sheet music! (Not available to us, anyway.)

Webber does more than collate scattered references to the
Psalms into one harmonious whole. The man can write as surely as he can edit,
and, when the text demands greater clarity, he thinks for himself. Below is a brief
example of Webber’s editorial grappling, which, whether one agrees with it or
not, demonstrates that one can have an independent mind and still be (to use an
old-fashioned term) a true New Churchman:

But
You have made him a little lower than God,

And
have crowned him with glory and grandeur.
(Ps. 8:5)

The word for “God” is mistranslated as
“angels” in most translations to make this Psalm refer to mankind in general.
However this is a prophecy concerning the coming of the Lord, who lowered
Himself to become incarnate in human form and is thus described as “a little
lower than God.” The elevation of His human form to Divinity is then described
as being crowned, which also signifies a state of wisdom from love. [Scriptural
citations follow.] To give glory and grandeur means to ascribe all truth and
good to the Lord.

Let it stay moot just which translation of the word Elohim is the more accurate. Webber’s
observation is clear and concise, and does not distract from the rest of his
commentary, solidly based on the Writings. What else matters? It isn’t often
that Webber asserts himself over received opinion and conventional translation,
but he never does so without providing just cause and due diligence. In such
instances, it’s exhilarating to see familiar material explored by an original
mind.

I learned something profoundly new when I read Webber’s
analysis of the much loved 23rd Psalm, especially his parsing of “Your
rod and staff comfort me.” I was made to realize that rod (often made of iron)
corresponds to truth while a staff (usually made of wood) corresponds to good,
both of which we receive from the Lord when we allow Him to shepherd us. Maybe
these correspondences have been expounded elsewhere, but it was Webber’s
explanation that finally unfolded the meaning of this familiar line to me. I’m
still pondering the heartening implications of the word, “comfort,” which I learned
means “to protect.” Now apply the same meaning of that word to the mysterious Divine
function sometimes referred to as “The Comforter.” Consider that with the
Lord’s Glorification, in which He assumed Divinely Human power, He can protect
us that much more. What a comforting thought! Such insights fulfill Webber’s
promise at the outset of his tome: “Once one’s mind becomes abstracted from the
literal sense, it is lifted up towards higher concepts of love and truth, and
the most obscure passages become relevant to one’s everyday life.”

We in the New Church know that beyond everyday life, the
Psalms refer to the greatest—indeed the only—life ever lived. Were it not for
the Writings, we might never guess at the genuinely merciful spirit behind the
so-called “vengeful Psalms,” of which even their composers were apparently unaware.
It is no mere background information to be apprised that “David” represents the
Lord as to His Divine Human—God become man in the Person of Jesus Christ. Some
readers have been put off by David’s all-too human failings, which can make his
apparent self-righteousness expressed in the Psalms that much more
insufferable. It helps us to know that what may appear as self-pitying
complaining or vindictive score-settling reflects a deeper reality of the
Lord’s direful spiritual combats against the hells. While David was fighting
for his life and reputation, the Lord on earth was fighting to rescue the human
race from total damnation. So severe were the Lord’s spiritual struggles (known
to us by the mild term “temptations”), only the highly charged language of the
Psalms can give us some idea of what He suffered on our behalf. Keeping this
thought in mind raises even the most bloody-minded Psalm into a higher
dimension. The personal becomes metaphysical.

Elaborating on this point, Webber produces a list of
prophecies recorded therein that Jesus literally fulfilled while on earth—but then
draws up a list of prophecies seemingly not
fulfilled by Him. How are we to understand the latter? “Many now” he relates,
“assume these will be fulfilled in the future when He returns in the Second
Coming. But is this the proper way to interpret these prophecies, that God will
come in anger to judge the world, destroy the wicked by fire, and rule over the
kingdoms of the earth?”

This is no idle question when one ponders the vast
popularity of the Left Behind fiction
series or such “apocalyptic” works as The
Late Great Planet Earth, whose author, Hal Lindsey, was invited to lecture
on the imminence of Armageddon to high-level personnel at the Pentagon. Only a
deeper, more spiritual understanding of Scripture may save us from the designs
of a Military-Eschatological Complex. It can only be hoped that Jewish
apocalypticians, who have great influence on the government of Israel, may yet
become acquainted with a more enlightened interpretation of the Psalms. They
are still focused on religious and geo-political conflict, rather than
spiritual warfare. Some zealots have taken Psalm 83 in particular as a literal,
Divinely-mandated prescription for all-out war on each of Israel’s neighbors.
When the world understands that our real
enemies are not those of other nations, but the evils and falsities of own
selfish nature, it will become a safer place—and not a moment too soon!

While there is so much to say in praise of Webber’s
magnificent work, no author’s book is perfect, especially one that seems to be
one notch above being self-published. At the risk of appearing petty, it must
be noted that his manuscript could have benefited from the oversight of a keen
copy-editor: typographical errors abound. Not to call it an error, but it takes
some getting used to Webber’s reference to Heavenly
Arcana, which seems like a compromise between the Latin title Arcana Coelestia and the New Century
Edition title Secrets of Heaven. I
prefer the old familiar titles, and so does Webber, apparently, with this
exception. If only for the sake of consistency, it’s too bad he didn’t stay
with the titles listed in the Rotch Edition, which would have enabled him to
use abbreviated titles for the Writings, a real space-saver.

It must be said that in its ambition to be as compendious as
Pott’s Concordance, there occurs some
unnecessary repetition of material from the Writings. Textual redundancy can
give this opus the feel of a generalized cut-and-paste job, which is all but
inevitable with a one-man publishing project. O for a professional editor, who
knows just when and where to prune!

Here’s an example of what I mean:

From
your rebuke, Jehovah,

From
the breath of the spirit of Your nostrils. (Ps. 18:15)

A pithy commentary follows (scriptural
references removed): “The rebuke of Jehovah is the punishment of evil; wind or
breath of the Lord signifies Divine influx of the truth into the lower regions
which punishes the falsehood of evil; spirit signifies Divine truth.”

Well said. But since some words have not yet been expounded
(i.e. “breath”), there follow four more pages of biblical citation, quotation,
and explication for just this one verse. Untried readers of the Writings may
feel they’re being subjected to expository overkill. Sometimes less is more. When
Webber has completed his multi-volume exegesis of all 150 Psalms, he might
consider publishing a single condensed commentary of their internal sense,
which may have wider appeal for first-time and even well-versed readers.

Finally, there is the question of the book’s cover. It’s a
lovely picture, to be sure, but what is it doing on a staid reference text?

All of the above are quibbles, however, compared to the
magnitude of Webber’s achievement. There is nothing said here in the way of
criticism that can’t be fixed in a second edition, which surely deserves to
happen.

New Church scholars may have stronger objections other than
those raised here. If so, they should make their suggestions to the author while
it is still a work-in-progress—or publish something of comparable scope and
depth. For now at least, especially given its inspired content, this rendition
of the Psalms stands above all others. This is a noble work, a labor of love,
and a worthy addition to any New Church library.

Whether or not it is noticed by mainstream theological
schools, The Symbolism of the Psalms deserves
to be recognized as a major contribution to biblical hermeneutics. Here is an
opportunity for those unacquainted with the Writings to learn the language of
correspondences, whereby even more challenging portions of the Bible can become
understandable to them. Imagine the thrill of realizing that the Symbolism of the Psalms, far from being
an arbitrary interpretation, reveals a code of such surpassing ingenuity, it
can only be Divine—and it applies to all of the rest of the Lord’s own Word,
making it at last an open book for humanity!

We in the New Church cannot be so thrilled. The Symbolism of the Psalms is old news
to us.

But this book is new—brand
new—and should give cause for gratitude and wonder to anyone who reads it.